daub late 14c. (Dauber as a surname is recorded from mid-13c.), from O.Fr.dauber "to whitewash, plaster" (13c.), perhaps from L.dealbare, from de- "thoroughly" + albare "to whiten," from albus "white" (see ALB (Cf.alb)). Painting sense is from 1620s. Related: Daubed; daubing. As a noun, from mid-15c.